Crossbreeding in Beef Cattle using Terminal Sires

Calves sired by Gelbvieh were the heaviest at weaning. Gelbvieh-Hereford dams had the heaviest calves at weaning, heaviest calves at birth and the highest milk yield. Calves of Brangus-Hereford dams were the heaviest at weaning and calves of Brangus sires were the heaviest at birth. The differences between Gelbvieh and Brangus were never significant. Angus ranked last in all weight traits. In thickness, however, Angus ranked after Gelbvieh with 80 per cent thickness one calves instead of Brangus. Angus calves were not heavier than Brangus calves in any of the data sets but had thicker muscles. Angus crossbred dams and purebred sires had the highest calving ease. This is expected because they ranked lowest for birth weight. Although Angus ranked last for weight traits, it became the most productive dam breed when reproduction rate was taken into consideration. Angus had the highest weaning weight per cow exposed in all data sets evaluated. Gelbvieh-Hereford and Brangus-Hereford produced more milk than Angus-Hereford. This result is consistent with results of weight trait analyses; cows producing more milk had heavier calves.